Contacting an auction house to correct a listing

[Butch7999]

Contacted REA several years ago about an error in their then-current catalogue
(date attributed, in the auction description, to an antique tabletop baseball game
was off by about a decade).
Heard back next day personally from Rob Lifson, very politely thanking us for the info.
An errata sheet was included in subsequent mailings of that catalogue
(well, one was sent to us, anyway).

[drcy]

I've contacted auction houses sometimes with about 50/50 success. I know sometimes they've missed the messages, and some aren't terribly good at communicating.

Due to lack of communication and people who don't take kindly to corrections, my personal rule is I answer questions that are asked of me and leave it at that. I do have auction houses that sometimes ask me questions, but it's more often collectors who have questions about items in auctions.

The exception where I insert myself is when an auction house has something that is much more significant that they realize-- which happens sometimes.

[Bestdj777]

"Substantial support" probably isn't sufficient enough to warrant revising the description. We all have theories and some evidence about particular items but it's a fine line.

[bnorth]

I would guess most auction/consignment houses/sellers don't care as long as they get their cut.

Check out this thread. http://net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=240022 They changed the title but this is still the first line in the description. "Great piece, offered is a truly historic 1947 Brooklyn Dodger original World Series ring."

Yep that is a World Series ring.

EDIT: I did contact Heritage once because they had some old rack packs and in that listing they said to beware of the fake Christmas rack packs. Then a few lots later was a listing for Christmas Rack packs. When I pointed that out they pulled the Christmas rack packs from the auction.

[Topnotchsy]

Originally Posted by Bestdj777

"Substantial support" probably isn't sufficient enough to warrant revising the description. We all have theories and some evidence about particular items but it's a fine line.

Wouldn't that be hard to say without knowing what the item or evidence was?

Substantial support = pretty strong evidence that the item signed did not exist until 5-10 years after the date indicated + pretty clear indication that the style autograph on the item is in a style that reflects a later time period a well.

In my mind there is no doubt the listing is inaccurate, but unlike the earlier case where I had photo evidence, in this case I do not, so I didn't use as strong a wording in my original post.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

I have emailed a company I buy and sell with on occasion, They have made appropriate changes every time.

[CobbSpikedMe]

I've mentioned the simple mistake of picturing a card that was not what the description was related to. A clear mistake that wasn't an opinion. They thanked me right away and fixed the listing online.

AndyH

[calvindog]

One time I called an auction house to correct an error on a concert ticket lot -- the band had actually not played that particular night due to a cancellation -- and the owner of the auction house got on the phone and threatened to murder me. LOLOL Seriously.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by Dewey

Emailed once regarding a misidentification of photo subject (a guy standing next to Jackie Robinson). Description was properly edited within hours.

Originally Posted by gnaz01

Have emailed REA and the auction description online was changed within an hour.........

Originally Posted by Butch7999

Contacted REA several years ago about an error in their then-current catalogue
(date attributed, in the auction description, to an antique tabletop baseball game
was off by about a decade).
Heard back next day personally from Rob Lifson, very politely thanking us for the info.
An errata sheet was included in subsequent mailings of that catalogue
(well, one was sent to us, anyway).

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

I have emailed a company I buy and sell with on occasion, They have made appropriate changes every time.

Originally Posted by CobbSpikedMe

I've mentioned the simple mistake of picturing a card that was not what the description was related to. A clear mistake that wasn't an opinion. They thanked me right away and fixed the listing online.

AndyH

By and large a reputable company doesn't want the headache of selling a mistake. There's an entire branch of insurance for auction houses called "Errors and Omissions" and while most larger companies have it, nobody wants to use it!

[Bestdj777]

Originally Posted by Topnotchsy

Wouldn't that be hard to say without knowing what the item or evidence was?

Substantial support = pretty strong evidence that the item signed did not exist until 5-10 years after the date indicated + pretty clear indication that the style autograph on the item is in a style that reflects a later time period a well.

In my mind there is no doubt the listing is inaccurate, but unlike the earlier case where I had photo evidence, in this case I do not, so I didn't use as strong a wording in my original post.

I think it's a fine line. Not doubting the veracity of what you say. I'm sure the listing is wrong. I just don't expect that an auction would modify a listing based on the opinion of someone.